DOBSON MINE.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19168, 26 November 1927, Page 5

DOBSON MINE.

EFFECTS OF DISASTER. COMPANY RECOVERING FROM SET-BACK. The annual general meeting of/Grey Valley Collieries, Ltd. was held at the Company's office. Hereford street. The chairman of directors (Mr Allan Smith) presided, and those present included Messrs R. B. Bell, J. Catchpole, C. C. Davis, F. R. Hogarth, J. M. A. Ilott, and Sidney Kircaldie (directors), and several shareholders. The third annual report and balancesheet were adopted on the motion of the chairman and Mr Catchpole. "In moving the adbption of tho report and balance-sheet," said the chairman, "I should like to make a few remarks particularly referring to the unfortunate disaster that overtook the company in December of last year. "The explosion occurred in the early hours of the morning, and the cause will never be known, as unfortunately some of the men employed were killed outright, and those who were brought to the surface died without regaining consciousness. Needless to say, the loss of these valuable lives was greatly to be deplored. I cannot give too much praise to those who, as soon as they heard of the explosion, hastened ; to the scene and formed a rescue j party. Mine officials and workers from all mines in close proximity quickly congregated at the scene of the dia- j aster, and, in conjunction with our own j staff, twice bravely entered the pit, i which was in a burning condition and j likely to explode again at any time. I and did all that was possible to make J sure that nothing further could be j done to save lives. j "To endeavour to extinguish the ] fires the' mine was sealed, but this method was unsuccessful, and, acting on the advice of the Inspector of Mines and Managers, flooding was resorted to, which ultimately put the fires out. The mine was filled to the point' of five chains from the top of the main dip drive. Flooding the mine was not a difficult task, and if the unwatenng had been as easy the mine would have been producing some months before it did. Only those who were closely associated with the unwatering know the difficulties of such an undertaking Suitable plant to do the work was not procurable within the Colonies, and at one period the directors thought the only thing to do was to procure plant in the Old Country, which would have meant a long wait of many months before the unwatering could be commenced. "However, by persistent effort a scratch plant was procured in New Zealand, and as soon as it was erected, continuous pumping night and day was carried out until the unwatering was completed, and the bodies of the unfortunate men recovered. I would like to mention the great work done by our manager, Mr Hughes, and the staff associated with him during this trying period Their efforts to keep pumping continuously going were unsparing, and they all stuck manfully to the ]ot> right to the end. . "Mining operations were resumed in July of this year, and production has gone along steadily ever since. The output has steadily increased, and we are now producing a much larger output than before the explosion. Speaking of the mine itself, it is now well ©quipped. At the surface and underground it is in a clean and methodical condition, enabling work to be earned out in an efficient and economical manner. The Inspector of Mines on. his visits has expressed himself that the mine is conducted in a safe manner, and he has no fault to find.

"As shown by the balance-sheet, the explosion has been a costly business, and is a «reat set back. This is very regrettable especially so as just prior to the explosion we were getting as it were on our feet and reaching the dividend state. To finance the cost of the disaster che directors issued £25,000 of debentures, and practically all this amount was subscribed, thus enabling the directors to again thoroughly establish and equip the mine. "Under careful management, I consider the future prospects of the mine should be good. Very soon it will be possible to produce a much larger output of first-class bituminous coal. Wherever our coal is sold we receive good reports, and if sales can be maintained for a large output we should soon place ourselves on a good financial footing. Every effort is being made to keep costs down, and as output increases gc%d results in this respect are apparent. "Whilst mentioning coal sales, 1 would like to see the New Zealand Railways, who are the largest consumers of coal in New Zealand, stop importing 4 he Australian article. These remarks also apply to other large importers : the competition of oil and electricity is having a decreasing effect on coal sales, and it is up to all who have the welfare of the Dominion at heart, to burn only the New Zealandproduced article. By using our own New Zealand coals, apart from keeping the money in the countrj, the coal industry employs a great number of men, and this employment assists in the prosperity of the Dominion to a large extent. ,r At the Coal Mine Owners' Association's annual conference lately, I noticed th' chairman made reference to new companies forming, advising the danger of over-production. "In my opinion the Government should not grant further leases. I am satisfied with the number of mines now producing that more coal is being turned out than can be consumed. In this class of industry, to mine on a payable basis, the wheels of industry must be continuously moving. Broken time is costly both to owners and the public alike. In England the mineowners, owing to decreasing demand, have cooperated together and closed a number of pits. "In conclusion, on behalf of the directors, I wish to thank the hon. Minister for Mines and his officers for their valuable assistance to the company through its trying time: any assistance and advice they could give us was readily given. "I also wish to thank our manager and staff for the way they have cooperated to bring the mine back to its present productive position, and perhaps at this present meeting it is not out of place to state that your directors have had a strenuous time and have put in a very large amount of valuable work in their endeavours to place the mine in its present favourable position. The retiring directors—Messrs 0 C. Davis and F. R Hogarth—were declared re-elected unopposed. * Messrs Stewart Beckett and Co. were reappointed auditors for the ensuing year. A cordial vote of thanks to the directors for their work during the past year was carried on the motion of Messrs George Ross and Walter Leitch.